The "Trash Out" Of Vacated Foreclosed Homes

The following is a close up look at foreclosed homes in which the former tenants leave things behind.

Two days ago in a post on this blog titled "Realty Trac Vice President Discloses 70% Of All Foreclosures Are Not Shown On MLS!", I showed you a video in which I listed the reasons 70% of Foreclosed homes are not yet on MLS rolls. Among the reasons given by CNBC writer Diane Olick, there were:

3. Banks cannot keep up the explosion of Foreclosures. The paperwork is
overwhelming them.

4. Another reason is since these Foreclosures are
taking longer to process, the homes have more time to be trashed, vandalized and
looted.

5. Hence, before banks can put damaged homes up for sale, they
have to spend even more money to repair the homes to make them salable. Thus it
takes more time for banks to repair the home and do "minimal staging" so as to
attract buyers.

It is that last point which is going to be highlighted most in the following video.



The "Trash Out" Of Vacated Foreclosed Homes

Today, you will see how cleaning companies are so busy with so many Foreclosure "Trash Out" jobs that virtually everything in a home, from computers, to tables, to lamps, art, tools and more are tossed in a truck and hauled to a dump without taking time to give those items new homes.

Several times you see crew members flippantly saying things like "I wish I had room to take this home, but I don't have any more room, so off to the dump it goes." In another scene a guy is looking at paintings wondering if any of them are worth any money before he tosses them into the trash. We see a kindhearted boss who at least takes the most intimate personal items a family may have left and put them in a box which he "will store" hoping the ex-owners will snap out of their despair and come seeking something of their past.

And this isn't poor folks we're talking about either. In other scenes we see how badly trashed new McMansions (less than 5 years old) can become when tenants have given up all hope.

The sadness extends from the family which have vacated the properties due to Foreclosure and who leave behind personal items such as family photos, clothing, computers and collectibles. One family left an urn with ashes in it.

And on the other hand, you hear the sadness from the "trash out" crews who wonder about the little girl who left behind her toys. You also hear the crews talk about the "waste" on not being able to recycle all these household goods, goods which a charity could use . . . but they tried charities before and the charities always messed up by not taking everything . . . or simply didn't show up. These crews are too damn busy clearing the house of all personal items so the next crew, painters, carpenters, landscapers, etc., can come in, renovate the home, and prepare it for a "staging" to sell the black hole off a lender's books.

The homes you will see run from homes left in immaculate shape with loads of great items to homes that look like squatters invaded and trashed every damn thing not nailed down. So
what we are seeing are homes right after the banks take over, a sheriff has locked the property, and the "Trash Out" crews arrive to clean out everthing but the appliancess. This video will not show us the length of time maintenance people will spend to come in, sod the lawns, paint and fix the walls, rehang doors, fix the plumbing and so on.

Looking at this video in a positive way, there is a lot of work out there for people who don't mine getting dirty. There'a a huge Foreclosure market out there needing dependable handyfolk with trucks who can work quickly and do a good job. There are so many foreclosures you could work sunup to sunset and have work booked 7 days a week.

Watch this video and you will see what despair looks like in a vacant home Watch this video and you will understand why not all Foreclosures are entered on MLS rolls the minute the ledners take back ownership. Watch this video if you're currently out of work and I'll bet you can find a few mutually unemployed friends, one of whom might have a truck, and you could all go into the business of "Trashing Out" Foreclosed homes. It's a sad job, but somebody's got to do it.

Caveat vendor and Caveat emptor!

Rock in Key West